Israeli airstrikes began November 14, following months of Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. Monday, the top leader of Hamas dared Israel to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismissed diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in the six-day-old conflict, as the Israeli military conducted a new wave of deadly airstrikes which included a second hit on a 15-story building that houses media outlets. What follows is just a small collection of images from the last few days of the conflict. – Paula Nelson ( 34 photos total)

A Palestinian firefighter tries to extinguish a fire after an Israeli air strike, on a floor in a building that also houses international media offices in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

People stand in front of a high rise housing media organizations in Gaza City, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli military struck the building for the second time in two days. The Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, is located on the top floor. (Hatem Moussa/Associated Press)#

Palestinians evacuate a wounded man after an Israeli air strike on a building that also houses media offices in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. Egypt's prime minister said on Monday that an agreement brokered by Cairo to stop the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza could be close. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)#

Israelis look up as a siren signals the warning of incoming rockets in the southern city of Ashkelon, November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)#

cPalestinians jump into a car after collecting bags of flour at a UN distribution center in Shati refugee camp, Gaza City, Nov. 19, 2012. Exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza militants continued for the sixth day on Monday. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)#

A Palestinian boy tends to his horse at the central market in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. Food prices have started to rise due to lack of fresh supplies caused by ongoing unrest with Israel, as scarce produce is met with more demands by the residents of the Palestinian coastal enclave. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)#

A Palestinian man mourns over the bodies of members from the al-Dallu family during their funeral in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. An Israeli missile struck a three-story building in Gaza City, November 18, killing nine members of the al-Dallu family - five of them children - and two of their neighbours, medics said. (Mahmud Hamsmahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)#

An Israeli police sapper collects the remains of a ordnance fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip that landed in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, Nov. 19, 2012. Exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza militants continued for the sixth day on Monday. (Tsafrir Abayov/Associated Press)#

Israelis inspect the damage to a house that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, November 18, 2012 in Ofakim, Israel. Israeli/Gaza attacks have entered the fifth day. (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)#

A Palestinian man looks at the destruction after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed 31 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified. (Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)#

Palestinians look at a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, November 19, 2012. Hostilities between Islamist militants and Israel entered a sixth day as diplomatic efforts were set to intensify to try to stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli air strikes on Gaza. International pressure for a ceasefire seemed certain to mount after the deadliest single incident in the flare-up on Sunday claimed the lives of at least 11 Palestinian civilians, including four children. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)#

A Palestinian boy walks up the stairs of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City, Nov. 19, 2012. The Palestinian civilian death toll mounted as Israeli aircraft struck densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip in its campaign to quell militant rocket fire. (Hatem Moussa/Associated Press)#

Palestinians gather around a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave dropped off as international efforts to broker a truce intensified. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)#

A Palestinian man cries next the body of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Nov. 18, 2012. President Barack Obama defended Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, but he warned that escalating the offensive with Israeli ground troops could deepen the death toll and undermine any hope of a peace process with the Palestinians. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)#

An Israeli soldier smokes a cigarette next to a convoy of tanks at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave, November 19, 2012. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)#

Israeli soldiers prepare an artillery emplacement overlooking Gaza, November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence.' ( Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)#

An Israeli soldier sleeps on top of a tank at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave, November 19, 2012. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)#

An Israeli soldier, from a tank squadron, attends a morning briefing at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border, November 19, 2012. The Israeli cabinet gave its green light for the recruitment of up to 75,000 reservists amid signs that Israel was gearing up for a ground offensive in Gaza. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)#

Israeli soldiers check ammunition at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave dropped off as international efforts to broker a truce intensified. (Nir Elias/Reuters)#

An Israeli soldier holds Torah scrolls as he conducts morning prayers at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border in preparation for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave, November 19, 2012. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)#